Lubricant compositions



United States Patent 3,118,839 LUBRICANT COMPOSITIONS William P. Banks, Tulsa, Okla., assignor to Jersey Production Research Company, a corporation of Delaware N0 Drawing. Filed Dec. 2, 1960, Ser. No. 73,178 2 Claims. (Cl. 252-25) This invention pertains to improved lubricant compositions containing minor proportions of dissolved or otherwise dispersed tungsten carbonyl.

The use of lubricants to cool and reduce the wear of moving parts in engines and the like is well known. A wide variety of mineral oils, synthetic polymers, vegetable oils, etc., have been used for this purpose. Such materials may be used per se, or they may be compounded With additives such as surfactants, oiliness agents, extreme-pressure additives, viscosity improvers, corrosion inhibitors, etc. They also may be compounded with soaps such as stearates, oleates, and the like to form greases.

The present invention improves upon the above compositions by the incorporation therein of a minor proportion of tungsten carbonyl. Upon contact with bearing surfaces subject to conditions of extreme temperature or Wear, this material tends to decompose and to alloy or otherwise deposit tungsten upon such surfaces. This is particularly the case for steel and other ferruginous bearing surfaces.

The above decomposition and deposition sequence appears to occur primarily when bearing surfaces approach temperatures of 150 C. or higher. However, it is contemplated that the sequence also occurs to some extent at temperatures substantially less than this value. In any case, the tungsten acts to replace bearing material that has been removed because of severe operating conditions.

While the use of tungsten carbonyl in accordance with this invention has application to a wide variety of lubricat- 3,118,839 Patented Jan. 21, 1964 ing compositions, it has particular utility in lubricating compositions comprising a major proportion of mineral oil. Very small concentrations of carbonyl-e.g., 0.1 wt. percent or even lesswill suffice to compensate for the extent of bearing wear encountered in normal use. Tungsten carbonyl is soluble or otherwise dispersible in mineral oils and may be used therein in concentrations up to about one percent by weight. Similar concentrations may be used within the other types of oils mentioned previously. The thereshold solubility of the carbonyl may be raised by the use of dispersants, organic solvents, or the like.

In practicing the invention, tungsten carbonyl may be added to a lubricating composition in any convenient manner. Further, as it is consumed upon use of the composition, it may be replenished as necessaryeither periodically or continuously. Normally, it will be most convenient and practical to replenish or change the entire lubricating composition.

The invention claimed is:

1. A lubricating composition consisting essentially of a major proportion of a material selected from the group consisting of lubricating oils and greases and a minor proportion of tungsten carbonyl dispersed within said material.

2. A lubricating composition consisting essentially of a major proportion of mineral oil and a minor proportion of tungsten carbonyl dispersed within said mineral oil, said tungsten carbonyl comprising up to about 1% of said mineral oil.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,785,082 C-lough et al Mar. 12, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 821,062 Great Britain Sept. 30, 1959 

1. A LUBRICATING COMPOSITION CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A MAJOR PROPORTION OF A MATERIAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF LUBRICATING OILS AND GREASES AND A MINOR PROPORTION OF TUNGSTEN CARBONYL DISPERSED WITHIN SAID MATERIAL. 